Victoria Oil & Gas Plc (AIM:VOG) announced that it has agreed a 12 month option to acquire Falcon Petroleum, a Cypriot company with exploration prospects in Ethiopia and Mali.
Falcon Petroleum has a Production Sharing Agreement for 90% of Blocks Ab1, Ab4 and Ab7 of the Blue Nile Basin in Ethiopia, covering around 26,000 square kilometres. Block Ab1 in Ethiopia has oil seeps, confirming an active petroleum system, the Company stated.
The Company also has a Production Sharing Agreement for 50% of the 20,000 square kilometre Block 17 in the Nara Trough in the west of Mali.
"Victoria Oil & Gas has paid an option fee of approximately US$400,000 in cash, which will be treated as a loan if the option is not exercised within 12 months. The option exercise price will be determined by an independent technical expert's report, which has been commissioned by VOG and cannot exceed $12.5 million. It will be payable by a combination of cash and the issue of new VOG shares,"
Rashed al Suwaidi, a Director of Victoria Oil & Gas, has a 25% indirect interest in Falcon Petroleum.